Geotourism Highlights of Gotland

GEOTOURISM HIGHLIGHTS OF GOTLAND NGO GEOGUIDE BALTOSCANDIA DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES, UPPSALA UNIVERSITY GOTLANDS MUSEUM GEOTOURISM HIGHLIGHTS OF GOTLAND Tallinn, 2010 Geotourism highlights of Gotland. NGO GEOGuide Baltoscandia. Tallinn, 2010. ISBN 978-9985-9973-4-5 Compiled by: Sara Eliason Michael G. Bassett Sebastian Willman Proof-reading: Graham E. Budd Layout: Heikki Bauert Photos & Illustrations: Heikki Bauert, if not otherwise stated Cover photo: Sea stacks at Gamlahamn, western Fårö © NGO GEOGuide Baltoscandia © Uppsala University E-mail: baltoscandia@yahoo.com Acknowledgements: Gotlands Museum, National Museum of Wales, Raymond Hejdström, Lars Holmer, Paula Knapman, Jan Olsson, Henrik Reintz, Michael Streng, Hanne Ödin, Gun Westholm EUROPEAN UNION EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE Release of this book was co-financed by European Regional Development Fund, Environmental Investment Centre, and NGO GEOGUIDE BALTOSCANDIA. It was accomplished within the framework of the CENTRAL BALTIC INTERREG IVA Programme 2007-2013. Disclaimer: The publication reflects the authors views and the Managing Authority cannot be held liable for the information published by the project partners. CONTENTS IntroductIon ........................................................... 5 Geological HIstory of tHe BaltIc Sea Region .................................. 6 tHe SIlurIan Bedrock and tHe GeoloGy of Gotland ............................ 11 tHe SedImentary Rocks of Gotland ......................................... 13 Gotland FossIls ......................................................... 22 landscapes of Gotland today .............................................. 27 tHe BaltIc Sea and tHe Sea Coast ........................................... 30 tHe Inland ............................................................ 35 HIstory and Cultural HerItaGe of Gotland .................................. 37 IndustrIal HIstory of Gotland ............................................ 40 GeotourIsm DestInatIons ................................................. 42 VIsBy SurroundInGs ................................................... 42 HöGklInt and RöVar LIljas Håla ...................................... 42 snäckGärdsBaden and KorpklInt ...................................... 44 lummelundsBruk and Lummelunda CaVe ................................ 46 nortHwestern Coast .................................................. 47 lIckersHamn ...................................................... 47 Ireviken ......................................................... 50 Bläse LImeworks Museum ............................................ 54 fårö ............................................................... 55 digerHuVud ...................................................... 55 aVanäset ........................................................ 56 langhammarsHammar ............................................... 58 nortHeastern Coast .................................................. 60 lerGraV ......................................................... 60 kyllaj ........................................................... 61 st OlofsHolm .................................................... 65 nortHern Inland ..................................................... 66 tInGstäde – Hejnum area ............................................ 66 eastern Coast ....................................................... 70 GotHemHammar ................................................... 70 GroGarnsHuVud .................................................. 71 kuppen and Snabben ............................................... 73 soutHeastern and SoutHern Coast ....................................... 74 uggarderojr ..................................................... 74 HolmHällar ...................................................... 75 Husrygg and HoBurGen ............................................ 78 kettelvik ........................................................ 80 kettelvik Sandstone Museum ......................................... 81 stora Karlsö and LIlla Karlsö .......................................... 84 INTRODUCTION Apart from these rich human cultural attractions, Gotland has many rich natural features that make it The island of Gotland, situated in the centre of the Baltic Sea on the eastern periphery of Sweden, is the different from other regions of Sweden, related espe- largest of the Baltoscandian islands, with an area of cially to the limestone bedrock that occupies much 2994 km2, compared with Öland (1347 km2), Saare- of the island. The rich flora, noted mainly for its rare maa (Estonia, 2673 km2) and Bornholm (Denmark, orchids, the sedge fens and flush fens, the rocky lime- 588 km2). There are only 57 600 inhabitants of stone ground, the magnificent coastal and inland Gotland, but about 800 000 visitors come every year, cliff scenery, and the remarkable sea stacks (rauks) mostly as tourists in the summertime. are all features of the geological heritage. They owe their origin to the fact that the rocks of Gotland were Gotland is renowned for its beautiful scenery, espe- formed as sediments in a warm, shallow tropical cially along the coast where the wonderful sandy sea more than 400 million years ago. Human liveli- beaches attract people who want to swim and sun- bathe. There is also a rich cultural heritage, with hood derived from farming, forestry, cement produc- numerous ancient monuments and 92 impressive tion and the stone industry has been governed by churches throughout the island. The largest town, the prevailing types of bedrock and soil. The Visby Visby, was a prominent trading town of the Hanseatic town wall and numerous churches mentioned above League in the 13th and 14th centuries, and this would not have existed without the local supplies of importance is reflected in its rich architectural herit- building materials. Even the renowned natural light age. The magnificent town wall and some 200 well of Gotland, which has inspired so many artists, is preserved medieval buildings of Visby are particular a result of the interaction between the sea and the attractions. beautiful grey limestones. Geotourism highlights of Gotland 5 But the bedrock also has another special aspect. It (Gotland and Öland) represent the northwestern mar- tells the story of life on earth long before humans gin of the overlying sedimentary rock layers. appeared, and records changes of climate and envi- At the beginning of the Cambrian Period some 543 ronments over the course of millions of years. The million years ago, the Baltic region, European Russia study of fossils increases our knowledge of how ani- and some other areas of central and northern Europe mals and plants have developed through time, and formed its own continental mass commonly known how all these factors have been affected by large as Baltica. The border ran through northern Germany scale geological processes. and Poland, across Russia, down to the northern part Gotland plays a prominent role internationally in our of the Black Sea and then north through the present understanding of geological processes. The island has Ural Mountains. The Baltic Sea region was a depres- some of the world’s best preserved shallow sea sedi- sion in the continental crystalline basement. The land ments and richest fossil associations from its period of of Baltica had been exposed above sea level for a formation and development. The bedrock sequence long time, and had experienced a long period of ero- is essentially uninterrupted through its thickness sion that gave rise to a low-lying peneplaned surface. of close to 450 metres, recording some 10 million As the Cambrian commenced, Scandinivia and the years of the evolution of life on earth. Considerable Baltic Sea basin began to be flooded, starting from painstaking research has been undertaken into the the south. From the Cambrian up to the end of the description and interpretation of these sediments and Silurian period, a shallow sea lay here, with subse- their fossils, from as far back as 1741 when Linnaeus quent variations in land borders and depth. During spent just over one month on the island in June and these 135 million years Baltica gradually moved from July of that year and later described some fossils and a position far down in the southern hemisphere north- geological features in various publications. Detailed wards towards the equator. mapping of the geology of Gotland was carried out as The climate that prevailed at the different latitudes early as the first half of the 20th century, and over 600 Baltica passed through on its long journey northwards publications have been produced by researchers from are reflected in the sediments that were almost con- all over the world since 1970 alone. tinuously deposited on the sea floor, and are now preserved in widespread areas of Scandinavia and the Geological History of the Baltic Sea Baltic Sea Region. At certain times, the shallow sea REGION stretched well up what is known today as the Scan- If you picture a map of the Baltic without any of the dinavian peninsular. The oldest Cambrian sediments water in the Baltic Sea, and instead include the sea consist of fairly pure, well-sorted sandstones. They bottom in a geological map of the region, the posi- comprise remains of the disintegrated land surface tion and age of Gotland and the other Baltic islands that has been washed and sorted by waves and cur- will be more clearly understood. The northern Baltic rents in the shallow cold water, so that sand grains

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